


Dewey belong together?

by painttheworldinpastels



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: 4+1 Things, Alternate Universe - College/University, Libraries, M/M, yes those are some wjsn members in the character tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:20:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25689469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/painttheworldinpastels/pseuds/painttheworldinpastels
Summary: null hypothesis: The 5th floor student librarians are the most attractive.alternative hypothesis: The 5th floor student librarians are not the most attractive.**Lee Jeno is the outlier.Donghyuck feels Yeoreum rest her pointy chin on his shoulder. "Aren't you supposed to be working on problem 9?""I can multitask."
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno
Comments: 17
Kudos: 122





	Dewey belong together?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [spyblue31](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spyblue31/gifts).



> 迟来的生日快乐 ♡

[1]

Donghyuck rocks on his heels impatiently as he waits for the elevator doors to open. There's a line forming behind him and it's starting to make him feel antsy, especially since the person right behind him is a whole foot taller than he is. Not very good for his ego.

A loud ping resounds and the doors slide open. He and the others around him wait for the people previously on the elevator to get off before slowly trickling in. He smushes himself in the farthest corner, making himself as small as possible so that everyone who was waiting for the elevator can fit inside. It's a tight squeeze but when the elevator doors close to take them up, no one is left behind.

Donghyuck watches the little screen show which floor they're approaching. He waits with bated breath as the elevator stops at the 3rd floor and people both enter and exit. 4th floor, and the elevator is now half-empty. 5th floor and he himself gets off, mumbling a small "thank you" to the elevator button pusher (he doesn't know what they're called exactly, but he appreciates their hard work) as he goes.

The landing of the 5th floor is quiet, and that's because most people prefer to stay at the bottom floors, not wanting to climb the winding stairs or wait for the only elevator available to the public. (There's another lift, but that one is for library staff and school personnel only.) Usually, he'd do the same. He wouldn't even be up here at all if he had a choice, but his laptop had given him the Blue Screen of Death right before he could make the final edits for his socio-anthropology essay last night and his roommate Renjun wasn't around to lend his. The printing shops in Donghyuck's area don't allow editing so he has been forced to set an alarm to the crack of dawn and wait for the library to open at 8:00 a.m. sharp. Unfortunately he woken up way past 9, and the library's computer lounge was already full by the time he got there. The computer section of the science (2nd) floor was filled up too, so he had to race to the upper floors and pray that there was an available unit somewhere. This sequence of events brings him here to the 5th floor, the second topmost floor of the library. The humanities section.

He takes a deep breath and moves to push the glass door open, but it doesn't budge. He tries again a few times until someone behind him reaches over and pulls, successfully opening the door. He bows his head in apology and the person takes pity on him, not commenting on his idiocy and allowing Donghyuck to step inside first.

He quickly taps his ID on the scanner to record his appearance, a feature his university uses as a ruse for higher tuition rates in the guise of strengthened security. He doesn't have time to wait for the cute librarian focused on his book to notice him so he taps the counter lightly. "Excuse me," Donghyuck whispers as loudly as he can. "I need to use a computer."

Cute Librarian looks up and meets Donghyuck's eyes, staring at him for a good minute before he gets up to check if there are any available spots. Donghyuck feels his cheeks heat up but he's unsure if it's because Cute Librarian has a  _ really _ intense gaze or if it's the fear of getting the same "sorry, all units are in use" answer again.

Cute Librarian nods his head and Donghyuck lets out a sigh of relief. "Sure, let me just..." Cute Librarian gestures towards Donghyuck's ID and Donghyuck scrambles to hand it over. 

The librarian opens a small wooden drawer and shuffles through it, putting Donghyuck's ID inside and giving him a pass with the a computer unit number on it. He pushes his glasses up when Donghyuck takes it from his hand, and Donghyuck tries not to think about how good Cute Librarian's glasses look on him as he makes his way to the line of computers to the far right.

***

The next thirty minutes are filled with tension and stress. Donghyuck thought it would take him only five minutes max, but apparently he had forgotten to write a conclusion and he had left all of his notes in his dorm room. He clambers to get something out that's within the word count, and then he furiously clicks the save button multiple times before transferring the file onto his trusty USB. Better safe than sorry.

When Donghyuck gets back to the counter to return the pass and swap it back for his ID, Cute Librarian is immersed in his book again. He's smiling slightly at whatever he's reading and Donghyuck  _ really _ doesn't want to interrupt him, but he's got somewhere to be by 10 and it's already 9:34 a.m. "Um. Excuse me?"

"Oh. Hi again," Cute Librarian gets up, and his smile helps ease Donghyuck's anxiety. "Done already?"

Donghyuck nods and slides the computer pass over. Cute Librarian pulls out Donghyuck's ID from the drawer, and then he places it gingerly on the counter. "Hey, we have the same surname."

"Really?" Donghyuck cranes his neck to where Cute Librarian is shyly flashing him his own ID.  _ Lee Jeno _ . "Lee is a fairly common surname."

"It is," Jeno agrees. "You're the first Lee of the week to use the computers though."

Donghyuck stares at him blankly. "It's Monday."

Jeno's smile widens to a full-on grin and Donghyuck almost has to shield his eyes from the brightness of it. "First Lee of the week!"

_ He's so cute, on god _ , Donghyuck thinks to himself. If he had met this fine young man two semesters before, he would most definitely have forgone his paper and gotten right to flirting up a storm.

That's almost a year ago though, and he is certainly no longer the bright, bushy-eyed freshman of the past. He's got a grade average to maintain and aceing socio-anthro would raise his grades up from where they lie six feet underground. But Donghyuck lets out a soft laugh, which he stifles when he realizes where he is. "That's cool," Donghyuck says as he slowly backs away, a silent signal that he's leaving.

"Indeed. Good luck with whatever you're doing!" Jeno waves as Donghyuck exits the humanities section, walking backwards.

Donghyuck doesn't wait for the elevator. Instead he flies down the four flights of stairs and practically runs out the library, using the adrenaline from Jeno's attention to fuel him as he sprints to the nearest printing shop.

***

"Where have you been?" Yeoreum hisses when Donghyuck drops into the seat right in front of her, exhausted and a little sweaty. "We were supposed to meet up at 10! It's 10:03 now, you're  _ late! _ "

"Calm down, Yeoreumie, Mark isn't even here yet." Luda smiles as she slides a sheet of paper over to Donghyuck. "In the meantime, Hyuckie can do numbers 7 and 8, and maybe 9 if he's feeling generous."

Donghyuck frowns as we squints down at his assigned numbers. "Are you giving me the hardest ones on purpose?"

"Maybe if you were earlier you'd have gotten to choose which ones to do. Too late for that now," Yeoreum taunts, and Donghyuck sticks his tongue out at her. "Jokes on you, I can finish all of these in thirty minutes."

"Get to it, then."

"Fine." Despite Yeoreum's sour attitude first thing in the morning, he still offers her his jacket when she starts shivering. Yeoreum slides over some candy as a peace offering, and Donghyuck pops one in his mouth gleefully. Breakfast is a luxury few college students can afford.

Despite the sugar however, he seemingly cannot force his brain to cooperate. He makes it through the first two numbers he was assigned before his brain shuts down, his thoughts drifting back to the 5th floor. He grabs a separate sheet of paper and scribbles down:

_ null hypothesis: The 5th floor student librarians are the most attractive. _

_ alternative hypothesis: The 5th floor student librarians are not the most attractive.* _

_ *Lee Jeno is the outlier. _

Donghyuck feels Yeoreum rest her pointy chin on his shoulder. "Aren't you supposed to be working on problem 9?"

"I can multitask."

"Who's Jeno?"

Donghyuck taps his pen against the sheet. "Fifth floor student librarian." 

"And he's attractive?"

"Very. Oh my god, Yeoreum you should have seen him—" 

"Seen who?" Mark pops out of nowhere, startling Donghyuck and Yeoreum who both let out noises of surprise. Mark hushes them as he sits next to Luda. "How're you guys?"

"Suffering, like you soon will be." Luda slides him a copy of the same sheet she gave everyone at the table. "Numbers 6 and 10. I'd have you do 9 too but I think Hyuck's got it covered."

Yeoreum sneers as she stares at Donghyuck's notes. "Sure, if problem 9 was named Lee—"

"Lee, Lee, Lee, Lee team! All of us Lees brought together by alphabetical groupings! The Dream Team! Love that for us," Donghyuck interrupts, nudging Yeoreum's foot under the table. Yeoreum keeps the judgy smirk on her face but she doesn't mention it again, leaving Donghyuck to worry about problem 9 and Lee Jeno in relative peace.

[2]

Lee Jeno is an engineering student from S.M. University, born on the 23rd of April. Facebook won't show Jeno's year of birth but Donghyuck assumes he's somewhere around his age. He has three cats, and his hobbies include gaming and apparently online shopping, based on the posts he's been sharing. That's all Donghyuck can find on him, until a miracle comes in the form of Lee Yeoreum.

**lee jinsook (yeoreumie☀️)**

[ instagram link ]

this him?

Donghyuck clicks the link and is surprised to be brought to Jeno's Instagram page. It's public, which Donghyuck is thankful for, and his profile picture is of one of his cats. The latest picture on his feed is of him reading a book in bed with his glasses on, looking soft and cuddly. Donghyuck scrolls down a bit and finds a shirtless Jeno by the poolside, sculpted abs on display, no longer soft and cuddly. He quickly scrolls back up to prevent inappropriate thoughts.

**lee donghyuck (haechannie☀️)**

no ❤

**lee jinsook (yeoreumie☀️)**

oh :((

ill keep looking!!! we will find your future boyfie!!!

Donghyuck smiles fondly at his phone screen. Sometimes Yeoreum is too innocent for her own good.

**lee donghyuck (haechannie☀️)**

im kidding sookie

that's Him!

isn't he pretty 😍

**lee jinsook (yeoreumie☀️)**

oh thank god

there's like fifty lee jenos on ig

anyway i accept payment in the form of essay proofreads 🤩

**lee donghyuck (haechannie☀️)**

ONE essay

**lee jinsook (yeoreumie☀️)**

it was so hard to look for him 😔😔😔 so many lee jenos 😔😔😔 and i know youve seen the abs pic 😔😔😔 you never would have known he has a six pack if i hadnt done this out of the goodness of my heart 😔😔😔

**lee donghyuck (haechannie☀️)**

two essays and a blizzard

**lee jinsook (yeoreumie☀️)**

DEAL

omg i havent had dq in weeks

"Junnie," Donghyuck nudges his roommate, who is currently lying down face-first on his bed. "He's cute, right?"

Renjun raises his head at the question. He squints at Donghyuck's phone screen and then makes a non-committal noise. "Yeah."

Donghyuck flops down next to him so he could scroll through Jeno's pictures in an angle Renjun could see. "He's  _ sooo _ cute, Junnie."

"Yes Hyuck, you keep telling me."

"Look at this!" Donghyuck shoves his phone in Renjun's face and a disgruntled Renjun takes it reluctantly. "He makes birthday posts for his cats! He's so precious!"

"How are you literally the big-eyed pouty face emoji right now," Renjun grumbles. "How do you even know this guy?"

"Attractive fifth floor student librarian!"

"Ah, so he's  _ that _ guy." Renjun scrolls to Jeno's first ever post, which is a selfie of him in a car, glasses perched at the end of his nose. "You've always had a thing for guys with glasses."

Donghyuck hits his arm indignantly. "I do not!"

"Yes, you do! Jaehyun hyung, Seongwoo hyung—hell, even Mark Lee had glasses before he switched to contacts."

"He still wears his glasses to glass sometimes," Donghyuck mutters.

"And does he look cute in them?"

"...yes."

"Exactly." Renjun smirks at him. "This new one looks hot even without the glasses, though. I approve of him, Hyuckie."

"So you're saying you didn't approve of the others?"

"Just be happy I'm allowing you to rant about him, sheesh. Now come cuddle."

Donghyuck glances at the time on his phone. "Don't you have a group meeting in twenty minutes?"

"We can cuddle for ten, then. Hurry up, the clock's ticking!" Renjun opens his arms wide and Donghyuck shimmies into them, letting Renjun nuzzle his neck as he clicks on some of Jeno's highlighted stories.

***

Donghyuck has taken to spending his free time on the fifth floor, and the only thing he regrets is how his legs burn when he walks up the stairs to get there because waiting for the elevator takes forever. (It's good exercise, but Donghyuck has never been fond of physical labor.)

The humanities section is what pre-teen Donghyuck's paradise looked like. While there are an overwhelming number of academic reference materials making up the majority of the bookshelves, there is a corner specifically dedicated to fiction works. Children's, young adult, and "adult" books lined the aisles as far as Donghyuck's eyes could see, and Donghyuck feels giddy at the sight. He hasn't had much time to read non-school books nowadays, so he's pleasantly surprised that withering away in the humanities section just to catch the occasional glimpse of Lee Jeno brought him back to his bookworm roots.

Lee Jeno doesn't have a fixed shift schedule, or at least he doesn't have one that Donghyuck is able to track. Sometimes he's there, sometimes he's not. Fortunately Donghyuck likes quiet and cold spaces, so he doesn't mind studying there for hours on end even if Jeno doesn't show up. His favorite seat is a solo study table in the row where the desks are spaced at least two feet away from each other. It doesn't provide a view of the counter unless he turns around, but it's directly within the assigned librarian's line of vision. He gets to focus on his notes  _ and _ have Jeno notice him while he's studying. A win-win.

The thing Donghyuck loves the most about the university library is that if you wanted something in particular, request it and the library will try their best to get it for you. Most people use that function for research purposes, but Donghyuck is sure the library wouldn't mind procuring a copy of  _ The Cat in the Hat _ if someone asked for it.

Another thing he loves about the library is that most of the popular titles are readily available, so imagine his shock when he couldn't find the third book of one of the most in-demand book series on the planet anywhere.

It takes him an hour of searching, going as far as checking distant shelves in case someone wasn't aware of how library organization works and just shoved it into wherever it could fit. He checks the library database when he starts sneezing from all the dust gathered in the older bookshelf sections, and that's when he finds out that  _ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban _ is in the possession of someone who was supposed to return it a month ago, but never did.

Donghyuck frowns. He's not exactly upset that he won't be able to read it for a while, since he only read the first two books because he wanted to see what the hype was about. Granted, he isn't sold on the series but he thinks that he would have enjoyed it if he had read it when he was younger and was oblivious to the woes of the world. With all the shit the author is involved in though, Donghyuck finds himself unable to adore it.

Still, he's already read the first two books. Might as well continue, but now he can't because the next installment in the series is unavailable. Fantastic.

"Can I help you?" A voice asks from behind him, and when Donghyuck turns around Lee Jeno is standing there with the cutest customer service smile Donghyuck has ever seen. "Ah, no, it's fine. I was just looking for something."

"Maybe I could help you with that?" Jeno repeats, and Donghyuck shakes his head. "It's not in the library. Someone borrowed it last month and didn't give it back."

Jeno's brow furrows. "Last month? Library books are only allowed to be kept for a week max, though."

"You've got a rule breaker on your hands, then."

Jeno, still confused, ushers Donghyuck to the counter so they could check the record book and see who checked it out last. The culprit is someone named Park Jisung, who has indeed exceeded the one week borrowing limit and now has a fine of almost 10,000₩ on his head. Donghyuck watches as Jeno adorably bemoans having to alert the technical team, listing down Park Jisung's name and ID number onto a sticky note.

Donghyuck attempts to go without drawing Jeno's attention, but Jeno turns to him with an offer. "I could lend you my copy if you'd like. I know how frustrating the situation is, especially since you're already on the third book. Does tomorrow sound good?"

"Oh, no, thank you. I mean, it's really nice of you to do that, thank you so much! But I'm not really a Harry Potter fan. I'm more of a Narnia person, you feel me? Aslan and all that. I'll just wait for it to be returned. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Who-Knows-Where. I'll wait for it. You know, like Aaron Burr. From Hamilton. The musical. You don't know it? I have a copy of the pro-shot so if you want to watch it I could send it to you! Yeah," Donghyuck chuckles, resisting the urge to facepalm. Jeno looks at him with something akin to fondness, and it knocks the air from Donghyuck's lungs. He clears his throat and says, "Hahaha. Ok. Bye." He doesn't even actually laugh—he just says "hahaha" outright and then races out the door without looking back. 

[3]

The Readers' Café is located at the ground floor of the library, tucked away in a corner so obsolete that most people think that area is off-limits. Sometimes Donghyuck forgets it even exists. He's only been here once before, and that was when he had accompanied Mark's friend Jaemin for a quick caffeine fix.

The café is run by the Hotel and Restaurant management students, so the prices are affordable and preparation times are swift. It's not very spacious though, so Donghyuck has never considered staying there. In fact, the only reason he's here right now is because Renjun had threatened to sell his SHINee Taemin photocard collection if he didn't eat anything for lunch so Donghyuck decided to take a selfie next to the pastry display case, since it was the nearest food outlet. However, he felt bad for entering the café and taking pictures without buying anything, so he ended up with a small iced mocha and a table for two.

At the moment, the coffee is untouched and Donghyuck has his notes spread on the surface of the table like a demon summoning circle. He has just finished frantically highlighting every phrase he deems important on page 376 of Wiley's Organic Chemistry 11th edition when someone clears their throat above him. "Is this seat taken?"

Well aware of how cramped the café is and how there is a stark lack of tables and chairs, he shakes his head no and starts moving the scattered papers closer to him. When the table is half clean, the stranger sits down and swishes their drink around. "Thanks, Donghyuck."

Donghyuck snaps his head up and lo and behold, Lee Jeno is sitting in front of him with his perfect face and perfect hair and perfect smile. Donghyuck feels himself blush and he starts stacking his papers so he looks more organized. "Hi, Jeno."

Jeno's smile grows as he watches Donghyuck fumble with his belongings. "Busy?"

"Long test tomorrow."

"Ah." And that is the extent of their conversation. Donghyuck goes back to memorizing phenol structures and Jeno takes an iPad out and starts reading a PDF.

An hour into their peaceful setting, Donghyuck's eyes stray to his watch and then he closes his book harshly. It startles Jeno, who looks up at him curiously. Donghyuck rubs the back of his neck nervously. "I, um, have to go. Class in fifteen minutes."

"Oh, okay." Jeno starts clearing up his side of the table. "I'll walk you out."

"You don't have to—"

"It's fine, I was going to drop by the science building anyway." 

"For what?" Donghyuck asks as he counts his highlighters, checking if he's got them all. He looks expectantly at Jeno before he deposits them into his bag, and Jeno coughs uneasily. "I have a friend in the Psych department. Yes. He, uh, needs a scientific calculator but he left his at home so he asked to borrow mine."

"I could give it to them if you want," Donghyuck offers. "To save you the trip."

"No! I mean. We have things to talk about. Game things. Mobile Legends things. Do you play?"

"I used to. Got tired of it, no offense."

"None taken." Jeno continues talking as Donghyuck sifts through his notes to see if they're all intact. "So that's why I have to go. To see him. And talk. And give him the calculator."

Donghyuck nods as he finishes shoving the rest of his things into his bag. "Alrighty then. Shall we?"

They walk side by side. Whenever Donghyuck lags behind so Jeno is in front, Jeno slows down so they're walking the same speed. It's really sweet of Jeno, and Donghyuck tries his best not to think about it. (He fails.)

Donghyuck grabs hold of Jeno's bag when they cross the street. It's an unconscious move, and he lets it go when he hears Jeno laugh heartily. "Sorry, it's just something I do with my friends—"

"No prob. We're friends now, right? Next time, just grab my hand." Jeno winks at him and Donghyuck almost turns back to the road, wanting to get run over instead of looking at Jeno's smug expression.

They seperate at the lobby, since they have to take different staircases. Donghyuck bites the inside of his cheek as he ponders what to say next. Unfortunately what comes out of his mouth is less than eloquent. "So. Uh. Bye?" 

Despite Donghyuck's awkwardness, Jeno smiles sweetly at him. He pats Donghyuck's head lightly as he marches off. "Bye, Donghyuck. Take care."

***

"And you didn't ask him for his number? Or any of his social medias? Are you serious right now?"

Donghyuck sighs, leaning back into the plastic chair. It makes a creaking noise as he does so, and Donghyuck hopes that's normal or else he'd have hefty damages to pay for at the semester's end. He didn't need to add to the erlenmeyer flask and the three test tubes he's already broken so far. "We didn't even talk at all, Junnie. We sat there in comfortable silence—yes, that's a thing, and it was  _ so _ amazing to experience—and then he walked with me to the science building because he was gonna do something for a friend. That's it."

" _ That's it? _ "

"Yes. Jun, weren't you listening?"

Renjun groans loudly, and Donghyuck hurries to muffle it. "Don't make weird noises, Junnie!"

"I can't help it! This just means that I have to hear you pine for who knows how much longer," Renjun whines. "Fifth floor of the library, right? I'll go up there and ask him myself—"

"Renjun, no!"

"Renjun, yes!"

"Renjun, yes!" Yeoreum choruses next to Donghyuck. "What are we talking about?"

Donghyuck leans away from her. "I have class in two minutes, see you at 5?" he says to Renjun, who scoffs in reply. "No. I refuse to come home to a coward."

"Guess you'll be sleeping at Yukhei's dorm, then."

"...see you at 5."

[4]

Donghyuck makes sure the door is locked before he flounces over to Mark's laptop and plugs in his most treasured item, his USB. "I am letting you see this because I trust all of you. I am hoping that you cherish this secret and carry it to your graves, never to speak of it to anyone who is not present in this room—"

Luda huffs loudly. "Just get it on with already, we're only taking a five minute break, Hyuckie."

Donghyuck clicks on a video file, and he appears on the screen with a mic in his hands and a single airpod jammed in his ear, the words " **WHY ME AND JENO LEE ARE MEANT TO BE"** displayed front and center.

" _Hello friends! Today I will talk about why Lee Jeno and I would look good together and would make the cutest couple_ ," Video Donghyuck announces. " _Are you ready? Let's do this!_ "

The video cuts to Donghyuck with a brown background behind him, Jeno and Donghyuck's respective obligatory first-day-of-uni pictures laid out side by side. " _Ok, first! He's from SMU, I'm from SMU. He's the salutatorian of his high school batch, I'm...very clever. Okay, so next_!"

The video transitions to a full body photo of Lee Jeno, legs seemingly stretching on forever. " _He's probably around 180 c.m., I'm 174. Can you imagine us walking in the streets with the minimal height difference_ ," Donghyuck does a little shoulder shimmy to express how happy he is with whatever image his imagination comes up with.

The screen shows a screenshot of Jeno's Facebook profile next, zoomed in to Jeno's birthday. Video Donghyuck points a finger at the date to emphasize it. " _Next, he's three months older than me—he was born in April and I was born in June so that's great, he's more mature, can tame me down, can cool me down—_ "

The video cuts to the next shot abruptly and Mark leans over to whisper in Donghyuck's ear. "Did Renjun edit this?"

"Can't you tell by the heavy editing whenever I say something mildly inappropriate?"

"Noted." Mark shuffles forward a bit more to see clearer.

" _Next, he's fluent in three languages. I'm fluent in talking shit._ " Donghyuck stares into the camera knowingly and Luda fails to stifle her laughter. 

"Next, he's extremely beautiful and I'm...you know, just right, so it's balanced. Balance is important!"

"Lies!" Mark exclaims. "You were just going off about how incredibly gorgeous you are this morning."

"I need to remain humble, Mark. Now shush, there's more!"

" _Also, look at our cats_!" Video Donghyuck says as he holds up an angry-looking cat while an Instagram post of Jeno and a similar cat is exhibited. " _They're twins_!" Donghyuck jolts the cat in his arms gently, and the cat looks like it's one move away from scratching Donghyuck's eyeballs out. " _Lee Jeno_!" Donghyuck exclaims as his gaze goes from the cat to the camera.

Yeoreum giggles. "Isn't that the stray cat at your dorm?" 

"Shhhh, no one needs to know she isn't actually  _ my _ cat," Donghyuck mutters.

The video fades to black after that, met with a chorus of cheers. "Was that what you were working on instead of the introduction for the Physics report?" Luda teases.

"This was a project long in the making, actually." Donghyuck tinkers with Mark's laptop until he's able to slip his USB into his pocket. "Renjun was bored yesterday afternoon so I made him edit it for me."

Mark claps his shoulder. "You didn't tell me you have a crush on Jeno, Hyuck! We're on the varsity basketball team together and I could probably set something up for you—"

Donghyuck whirls to face him with the most threatening look he can muster. "Mark Lee, I swear to God, not a peep or else I'll make sure you never find peace ever again."

"Or not," Mark backs away from Donghyuck. "Donghyuck who? I've never heard of a Donghyuck before." That's the last anyone says on the topic as they work through the remainder of their report.

"I don't see what the problem is though," Luda comments when they're down to their final five minutes in the study room they've booked. "You're cute, he's cute. Go be cute together."

"I wish it were that easy."

"Why isn't it?"

"I don't know." Donghyuck flicks a piece of lint off of his shirt. "It just isn't."

"What a weakling you are," Luda snickers, but she eyes Donghyuck fondly. She musses up Donghyuck's hair as she gives him a tight hug. "I'm rooting for you, kiddo."

***

A few days later, Donghyuck's worst nightmare comes to life. He loses the apple of his eye, the love of his life. He loses his one and only USB.

Renjun wipes his forehead with his sleeve as he lifts Donghyuck's mattress so Donghyuck can check underneath it. "Are you sure you left it here?"

"I don't know. I can't find it anywhere." Donghyuck feels like crying. "Junnie, my files! All gone!"

"Calm down Hyuckie, we'll find it." Renjun puts the mattress down when Donghyuck sinks to the floor. Renjun sits down next to him. "You have most of your stuff backed up, right?"

Donghyuck nods, tilting his head up so the tears accumulating in his eyes won't fall. Renjun pats his arm. "We'll keep looking, 'kay? But if we can't find it, I'll get you a new one."

"Okay." Donghyuck snuggles against Renjun's side. "Thank you, Renjun."

Renjun kisses Donghyuck's temple. "Anytime, Hyuck."

***

The USB turns up not in Donghyuck and Renjun's room, or in Donghyuck's bag. It turns up not in Yeoreum's pencil case, or in Mark's stinky gym rucksack. It doesn't even turn up in the Lost & Found section. (Donghyuck would know if it did; he's asked many times. He's starting to think that the Lost & Found person dreads seeing him now.)

The USB turns up in Lee Jeno's hands.

Jeno hands it to him the moment Donghyuck settles on his favorite seat. "Yours, I believe?"

"Oh my god." Donghyuck cradles it to his chest, wiping imaginary dust off of it. "Jeno, you're a lifesaver."

"Found it attached to a CPU almost a week ago." Jeno motions to the computers in the corner, and Donghyuck wants to bonk himself on the head. "Jeno, I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I'm just glad it's back with its owner." Jeno smiles kindly at him. "Be careful not to lose it next time."

"Got it. How did you know it was mine?"

Jeno's smile turns playful. "Well, there was a video on it..."

Donghyuck mentally shuffles through what videos he's saved on the USB, and then his life flashes before his eyes. He throws Jeno a hasty thank you as he books it out of there. He runs down the stairs until he gets tired, ending up at the second floor landing.

When his breathing evens out, he realizes that he had left all of his belongings on the fifth floor. Brilliant.

Donghyuck walks to the nearest restroom and splashes water on his face. He dries his hands and he pats his pocket to check that his dearest USB is safe and sound in his possession once more. He'll have to put aside his shame for now; he has flash cards to finish writing and several books that need highlighting.

He walks up the stairs hoping that Jeno didn't see anything more than the "hi Jeno pls date me" video, especially not the Haikyuu fanfic he's been working on.

[+1]

_ Donghyuck is cute when he sleeps _ , Jeno muses as he watches him doze off at his favorite table. His mouth is slightly open and he can see his front teeth jutting out, and Jeno just barely resists the urge to poke his cheeks.

Ever since he watched the video, he couldn't stop thinking about how dating Donghyuck would possibly be like. Lots of affection, probably. Trading jackets and sweaters would be cute. Jeno smiles as he daydreams. Food dates too, perhaps? Mark mentioned that Donghyuck likes bingsu, and there's a bingsu shop five minutes away from campus. Maybe that's his key to finally getting some alone time with Donghyuck.

When Jeno's gaze strays back to Donghyuck, he's rubbing the sleep away from his eyes. He stares ahead for a couple of minutes before holding his head in his hands and closing his eyes again. He falls asleep in that position and is jolted awake around thirty minutes later when his arms fall and his head bumps onto the desk. Jeno rushes over to check if he's alright.

"Fine, just fine." Donghyuck's voice is gravelly when he assures Jeno he's not hurt. Jeno rubs his head gingerly anyway.

"I didn't snore, did I?" Donghyuck asks, still disoriented from sleep. "Renjun said I do but I don't believe him. Renjun's my roommate. He sucks."

Jeno laughs as soundlessly as he can. "No, you didn't snore. Or at least we didn't hear you. It's not a problem even if you did, really. The other occupants just ignore the noises, and you look like you could use some rest."

"Damn, I look that ugly, huh?"

Jeno chokes when he tries to contain his laughter, and Donghyuck takes that as an affirmative. He huffs angrily and buries his head into his arms, ready to go back to sleep. Jeno tugs his head back up. "No, you look very,  _ very _ cute right now." 

"I'm hungry." Donghyuck pats his stomach, not registering what Jeno said. "Renjun gave me dinner money and told me not to come back before 9 p.m. I wonder what he's up to."

Jeno is still holding Donghyuck's face in his hands so he squishes his cheeks together, and Donghyuck makes a face at him. Jeno grins in response. "I clock out in fifteen minutes. If you don't mind waiting for me we could go eat dinner together."

"Sure," Donghyuck says simply. He pulls away from Jeno and rests his head back down on the table. "Wake me up when you're done."

Jeno decides that he really likes Sleepy Donghyuck. Sleepy Donghyuck doesn't run away when Jeno stands too close, and he doesn't bolt when Jeno tries to flirt. His laugh is soft and his eyes are wide as he blinks aggressively to keep himself awake.

Jeno likes Awake Donghyuck too, though. He likes him so much that he asks Donghyuck to a bingsu date over the weekend. He had emphasized the word "date" and he's not sure if Sleepy Donghyuck was able to pick that specific detail up but, well, that's Awake Donghyuck's problem now, Jeno thinks as he stands in front of Donghyuck's dorm room armed with flowers and a corny library themed pick-up line.

**Author's Note:**

> Video content credit goes to [this entertaining work of art](https://twitter.com/6foot1badbitch/status/1284801897782632449?s=19) (half of the video is in Filipino but it's really funny, I promise)
> 
> The original title was "Dewey belong together? (say yes)" but I took one look at all of my titles and decided that I use too many parentheses hahaha. Anyway if you have the time, do give [Say Yes by Jeong Sewoon](https://youtu.be/682dzF96EZw) and the rest of the album a listen!
> 
> Thank you to my uni library for sheltering me for four years ♡ I hope cute 5th floor librarian is doing well uwu
> 
> twt: [@whatsavotingacc](https://twitter.com/whatsavotingacc?s=09)


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